Anethole improves the developmental competence of porcine embryos by reducing oxidative stress via the sonic hedgehog signaling pathway

Background Anethole(AN)is an organic antioxidant compound with a benzene ring and is expected to have a positive impact on early embryogenesis in mammals.However,no study has examined the effect of AN on porcine embryonic development.Therefore,we investigated the effect of AN on the development of porcine embryos and the underlying mechanism.Results We cultured porcine in vitro-fertilized embryos in medium with AN(0,0.3,0.5,and 1 mg/mL)for 6 d.AN at 0.5 mg/mL significantly increased the blastocyst formation rate,trophectoderm cell number,and cellular survival rate compared to the control.AN-supplemented embryos exhibited significantly lower reactive oxygen species levels and higher glutathione levels than the control.Moreover,AN significantly improved the quantity of mitochondria and mitochondrial membrane potential,and increased the lipid droplet,fatty acid,and ATP levels.Interestingly,the levels of proteins and genes related to the sonic hedgehog(SHH)signaling pathway were significantly increased by AN.Conclusions These results revealed that AN improved the developmental competence of porcine preimplantation embryos by activating SHH signaling against oxidative stress and could be used for large-scale production of high-quality porcine embryos.

CK2αcauses stemness and chemotherapy resistance in liver cancer through the Hedgehog signaling pathway

Background:Liver cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths globally.Cancer cell stem-ness and chemotherapy resistance contribute to the high mortality.Although evidence indicates that the alpha subunit of protein kinase 2(CK2α)is involved in several human cancers,its function in liver cancer remains unknown.In the present study,we aimed to elucidate the role of CK2αin liver cancer.Methods:We examined the role of CK2αregulation in stemness and chemotherapy resistance capacity of liver cancer cells.MTT assays,tumor sphere formation assays,RT-PCR,flow cytometry,Western blotting assay,clonogenicity assay,matrigel invasion assay and bioinformatics were conducted in this study.Results:CK2αexpression in the liver cancer tissues was notably upregulated compared with that in the corresponding non-tumorous tissues.The overexpression of CK2αpromoted tumor sphere formation,increased the percentage of CD133(+)and side population cells,caused the resistance of liver cancer cells to 5-FU treatment,increased the expression levels of NANOG,OCT4,SOX2,Gli1 and Ptch1,and enhanced the ability of CD133(+)cell clone formation and invasion.Consistently,the downregulation of CK2αhad the opposite effects.CK2αsilencing inhibited the Hedgehog pathway by reducing the expression of Gli1 and Ptch1.Mechanistically,CK2αregulation on liver cancer cell stemness and chemotherapy resistance was found to be involved in the Hedgehog signaling pathway.Conclusions:Our study may bring some new insights into the occurrence of liver cancer.Furthermore,these findings suggest that targeting CK2αmay be a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with liver cancer.

Genetic variants in the Hedgehog signaling pathway genes are associated with gastric cancer risk in a Chinese Han population

The Hedgehog signaling pathway participates in the occurrence and progression of cancers including gastric cancer.We conducted this study to evaluate whether genetic variants in the Hedgehog signaling pathway genes would affect gastric cancer risk.Multi-marker Analysis of GenoMic Annotation(MAGMA)was used to investigate the aggregated genetic effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)assigned to candidate genes.The relationship between SNPs and gastric cancer risk was estimated by multivariate logistic regression analyses.Gene expression was calculated using databases obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and The Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO).Kaplan‐Meier plotter was used to evaluate the association between gene expression with gastric cancer survival.Tumor Immune Estimation Resource 2.0(TIMER 2.0)was applied to determine the correlation between selected gene expression and the immune cell infiltration degree.We identified that the G allele of rs2990912 in KIF27 was associated with higher gastric cancer risk,especially in the young and male subgroups.The expression of KIF27 in gastric cancer tissues was higher than that in normal tissues,leading to poor survival in gastric cancer patients.Besides,KIF27 expression was related to immune cell infiltration and positively correlated with PD-L1 expression.Our findings highlight the key role of genetic variation in the Hedgehog signaling pathway genes in gastric cancer susceptibility,which may provide important insights into the diagnosis,prognosis,and treatment of gastric cancer.

Inhibition of self-renewal and differentiation of HT-29 cells-derived cancer stem-like cells by scutellarin via Hedgehog signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE To investigate the inhibitory effect of scutellarin on the self-renewal and differentiation of HT-29 cells-derived cancer stem-like cells(HT-29CSC)in vitro and in vivo,and to explore its mechanism.METHODS The effect of scutellarin on the growth of HT-29CSC was determined by 3D Culture assay.The effect of scutellarin on growth and transformation of HT-29CSC was probed by soft agar colony formation assay.The effect of scutellarin on the differentiation of HT-29CSC was determined by serum induction differentiation assay in vitro.The effects of scutellarin on the expressions of marker gene Lgr5,target gene c-Myc,proliferation gene CK20 and Nanog gene were measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR.Investigate the effect of scutellarin on the expression of c-Myc,Gli1,and Lgr5 protein by Western blotting.A subcutaneous xenograft model of colon cancer in nude mice was established and administered by intraperitoneal injection.The change of body weight and tumor size of nude mice were observed every two days.Investi⁃gate the effects of scutellarin on the growth of xenograft tumors in nude mice.The expression of CD133,Lgr5,Gli1,Ptch1,c-Myc,Ki67,CK20,Nanog gene in tumors were measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR.The expression of c-Myc,Gli1,Lgr5,CD133,Ki67 protein were measured by Western blotting.RESULTS Scutellarin can inhibit the growth of HT-29CSC in 3D culture.Compared with the solvent control group,scutellarin can significantly inhibit the growth and transformation and differentiation of HT-29CSC in vitro(P<0.01).The expression levels of marker genes Lgr5,target gene c-Myc,proliferation gene CK20 and Nanog in HT-29CSC were down-regulated by scutellarin.Scutellarin can reduce the expression of c-Myc,Gli1,and Lgr5 protein in HT-29CSC.Scutellarin can inhibit the growth of colon cancer xenografts,lower CD133,Lgr5,Gli1,Ptch1,c-Myc,Ki67,CK20,and Nanog mRNA level of xenograft tumors,reduce the expression of c-Myc,Gli1,Lgr5,CD133,and Ki67 protein of xenograft tumors in nude mice.CONCLUSION Scutellarin,which is the main component of scutellaria barbata,can inhibit the differentiation of HT-29CSC and the mechanism is to inhibit the activity of Hedgehog signaling pathway.

Inhibitory action of berberine on colorectal cancer HCT116 cells by regulation of Hedgehog signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE To investigate the inhibition and mechanism of berberine on human colorectal cancer HCT116 cells through canonical Hedgehog signaling pathway.METHODS The effect of berberine on cell morphology was observed by microscopy.MTT colorimetric assay,cell scratch experiment,colony formation assay and Hoechest/PI staining were utilized to detect the activities of berberine on cell viability,cell migration and cell apoptosis.Flow cytometry was applied to examine the cell apoptosis.The effects of berberine on caspase-3 and caspase-9 were detected by caspase activity detection kit.The expressions of Hedgehog signaling pathway-related proteins SHH,GLI1,PTCH1,SMO,SUFU,apoptosis-related proteins Bax and Bcl-2 as well as cell cycle-related proteins cyclin D1 were detected by Western blotting.Additionally,quantitative real time RT-PCR was employed to assess the mRNA expression levels of Hedgehog signaling pathway-related genes SHH,GLI1,PTCH1,SMO,SUFU,apoptosis-related genes Bax and Bcl-2 as well as cell cycle-related genes cyclin D1.RESULTS Berberine sharply altered the morphology of human colorectal cancer HCT116 cells,demonstrated by that migration ability of HCT116 cells was reduced significantly and the nuclei were densely stained.Berberine could induce apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner.The activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were increased prominently.The expression levels of Hedgehog signaling pathway-related protein SUFU and apoptosis-related protein Bax were augmented substantially.The expression levels of Hedgehog signaling pathway-related proteins SHH,GLI1,PTCH1,SMO,apoptosis-related protein Bcl-2 as well as cell cycle-related genes cyclin D1 were markedly lessened.Besides,the mRNA expression levels of Hedgehog signaling pathway-related gene SUFU and apoptosis-related gene Bax were augmented substantially.The mRNA expression levels of Hedgehog signaling pathway-related genes SHH,GLI1,PTCH1,SMO,apoptosis-related gene Bcl-2 as well as cell cycle-related gene cyclin D1 were markedly lessened.CONCLUSION Berberine,which is the main component of coptidis rhizoma,can remarkably restrain the growth and proliferation,promote apoptosis of human colorectal cancer cells HCT116,and the underlying mechanism may be involved in suppressing the activity of the Hedgehog signaling pathway.

Activation of Sonic Hedgehog Signaling Pathway in S-type Neuroblastoma Cell Lines

The effects of Sonic hedgehog(Shh) signaling pathway activation on S-type neuroblastoma(NB) cell lines and its role in NB tumorigenesis were investigated.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of Shh pathway components- Patched1(PTCH1) and Gli1 in 40 human primary NB samples.Western blotting and RT-PCR were used to examine the protein expression and mRNA levels of PTCH1 and Gli1 in three kinds of S-type NB cell lines(SK-N-AS,SK-N-SH and SHEP1),respectively.Exogenous Shh was administrated to activate Shh signaling pathway while cyclopamine was used as a selective antagonist of Shh pathway.S-type NB cell lines were treated with different concentrations of Shh or/and cyclopamine for different durations.Cell viability was measured by using MTT method.Apoptosis rate and cell cycle were assayed by flow cytometry.The xenograft experiments were used to evaluate the role of Shh pathway in tumor growth in immunodeficient mice.High-level expression of PTCH1 and Gli1 was detected in both NB samples and S-type NB cell lines.Cyclopamine decreased the survival rate of the three cell lines while Shh increased it,and the inhibition effects of cyclopamine could be partially reversed by shh pre-treatment.Cyclopamine induced the cell apoptosis and the cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase,while Shh induced the reverse effects and could partially prevent effects of cyclopamine.Cyclopamine could also inhibit the growth of NB in vivo.Our studies revealed that activation of the Shh pathway is important for survival and proliferation of S-type NB cells in vivo and in vitro through affecting cell apoptosis and cell cycle,suggesting a new therapeutic approach to NB.

Novel molecular targets in hepatocellular carcinoma

Globally,hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is a leading cause of cancer and cancerrelated deaths.The therapeutic efficacy of locoregional and systemic treatment in patients with advanced HCC remains low,which results in a poor prognosis.The development of sorafenib for the treatment of HCC has resulted in a new era of molecular targeted therapy for this disease.However,the median overall survival was reported to be barely higher in the sorafenib treatment group than in the control group.Hence,in this review we describe the importance of developing more effective targeted therapies for the management of advanced HCC.Recent investigations of molecular signaling pathways in several cancers have provided some insights into developing molecular therapies that target critical members of these signaling pathways.Proteins involved in the Hedgehog and Notch signaling pathways,Polo-like kinase 1,arginine,histone deacetylases and Glypican-3 can be potential targets in the treatment of HCC.Monotherapy has limited therapeutic efficacy due to the development of inhibitory feedback mechanisms and induction of chemoresistance.Thus,emphasis is now on the development of personalized and combination molecular targeted therapies that can serve as ideal therapeutic strategies for improved management of HCC.

Development of hedgehog pathway inhibitors by epigenetically targeting GLI through BET bromodomain for the treatment of medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma(MB)is a common yet highly heterogeneous childhood malignant brain tumor,however,clinically effective molecular targeted therapy is lacking.Modulation of hedgehog(HH)signaling by epigenetically targeting the transcriptional factors GLI through bromodomain-containing protein 4(BRD4)has recently spurred new interest as potential treatment of HH-driven MB.Through screening of current clinical BRD4 inhibitors for their inhibitory potency against glioma-associated oncogene homolog(GLI)protein,the BRD4 inhibitor 2 was selected as the lead for further structural optimization,which led to the identification of compounds 25 and 35 as the high potency HH inhibitors.Mechanism profiling showed that both compounds suppressed HH signaling by interacting with the transcriptional factor GLI,and were equally potent against the clinical resistant mutants and the wild type of smoothened(SMO)receptor with IC50 values around 1 nmol/L.In the resistant MB allograft mice,compound 25 was well tolerated and markedly suppressed tumor growth at both 5 mg/kg(TGI=83.3%)and 10 mg/kg(TGI=87.6%)doses.Although further modification is needed to improve the pharmacokinetic(PK)parameters,compound 25 represents an efficacious lead compound of GLI inhibitors,possessing optimal safety and tolerance to fight against HH-driven MB.

Research Progress of PTCH1 Gene in Lung Cancer

Background: The PTCH1 gene, also known as Patched 1, is located on the long arm of human chromosome 9 (9q22.3). It encodes the PTCH1 protein, which is a critical transmembrane receptor within the Hedgehog signaling pathway (Hh), playing a pivotal role in cellular communication and developmental processes. Recent studies have highlighted the significance of mutations in PTCH1 in the pathogenesis of lung cancer, positioning it as a crucial molecule for investigation in oncology. Purpose: This review aims to elucidate the role of the PTCH1 and the Hedgehog pathway in the initiation, progression, and potential treatment of lung cancer, thereby providing a theoretical foundation for personalized and precise therapeutic strategies. Method: To ensure a comprehensive review, this study systematically searched for literature related to the PTCH1, lung cancer, and the Hedgehog pathway across multiple databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure). The search strategy involved using specific keywords and advanced filtering options to include the most relevant and recent studies. Initial screening excluded irrelevant articles, followed by a detailed evaluation of the selected studies based on their scientific quality and relevance. Results: This review indicated that specific mutations in the PTCH1 gene are closely associated with the onset and progression of lung cancer. These mutations impede normal Hedgehog signaling, leading to unregulated cell proliferation and tumor growth. Targeting PTCH1, including vismodegib, have shown efficacy in clinical cases, particularly in SCCL with specific PTCH1 mutations, leading to complete remissions. Furthermore, the interaction between PTCH1 and microRNA-212 suggests potential therapeutic approaches by targeting miRNA to regulate PTCH1 expression. In addition, the investigation of traditional Chinese medicines such as Ginsenosides and Cordyceps sinensis extracts has shown their potential to modulate the Hedgehog pathway and reverse drug resistance. Conclusions: An in-depth understanding of the precise mechanisms by which PTCH1 mutations promote lung cancer could facilitate the development of targeted therapies. This study highlights the potential of PTCH1 as a biomarker for diagnosis and a target for precision medicine in lung cancer treatment, advocating for further research into its molecular pathways and therapeutic applications.